Cops Can't Find Stray Dog A Home — So They Adopt Him Themselves

Last March, officers from the Kirtland Police Department were called out to deal with a large stray dog who'd been spotted on the loose in an Ohio neighborhood. Rather than send him to a shelter and leave his future up to chance, they instead tried to find his owner themselves.

But despite making an appeal on social media on behalf of the animal - they called him John Doe Dog - no one in the small town of 6,800 residents came forward to claim him.

Just when it started to seem like John Doe Dog might never find his forever family, something beautiful happened - the police decided to give him one themselves.

It turns out, over the time they'd spent together looking for the stray dog's owner, his rescuers had fallen head over heels for him. That's about the time that the Kirtland police made the most heartwarming announcement:

We tried to find the owner of this marvelous animal to no avail. The folks here at the Police Department wanted a good home for JD (this is now his name) so with the permission of the Chief and the Mayor JD has been adopted by the Kirtland Police Association but they also share the warmth this stoic animal has brought with City Hall and the Fire Department. JD has fit into the environment as though he were here always. We are happy to have him in our department and our lives. He loves everyone and we love him.

It's unclear what sort of duties JD may have in his honorary role as police department pup - but even if that's just to bring smiles to his friends and others that he meets, the former stray is already doing a fantastic job.

(And we should know; it's already worked on us.)

Watch a little montage of JD's transformation from sad stray to the cops' happy pet.